The Parting Glass
by ITNW1989
Summary: Eulogies of Shepard's crewmates, with each theme based upon a certain stanza of the song. Note that this isn't a songfic, but a bittersweet farewell to one of this generation's greatest video game heroes.


**A/N: While I'm working on something new, listening to the song that's in the title of this fic gave me a bittersweet idea for a sort of farewell for my first Shepard, and all of her other incarnations. Cassandra Shepard, Paragon Ruthless Colonist, repentant soldier and Garrus' mate. _The Parting Glass_ remains one of my most favorite Irish folk songs, and I found this song to be the perfect send-off to our favorite Commander. This will consist of a couple drabbles based on each stanza of the song, with eulogies by our Commander's closest friends and comrades set right after the war with a Destroy Ending where EDI and the geth survive (because I can't stand it that they had to die; they just gained their independence and sentience, dammit!). As always, read and review, for they are my lifeblood!**

**PS: I've recently gotten a PM from someone asking me to remove this particular story because they believed this to be in violation of the Content Guidelines regarding songfics. To clarify, I am well aware that Ed Sheeran has released a version of _The Parting Glass, _but The Parting Glass has been around since the late 18th century, and was considered to be the most popular parting song before _Auld Lang Syne_ was written. This song is part of public domain, and is thus _NOT_ in violation of the Content Guidelines.**

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><p><em>Of all the money that e'er I had<br>__I've spent it in good company  
><em>_And all the harm I've ever done,  
><em>_Alas it was to none but me._

"Commander Shepard was… different. Not because she was human, but because her whole life was essentially a walking contradiction. She lost her parents because of a batarian slave raid, and I don't think she ever fully forgave them for that, not really. People called her the Butcher of Torfan, and to be honest, I was terrified of her when I first met her. My people's reputation was barely better than that of the batarians, and since starting my Pilgrimage, few of the people I've met had ever treated my fairly. _Suit-rat. Sneak thief. Buckethead. _I had to endure all this during the first few months of my Pilgrimage, and even when I was on the run from Saren. When I saw her, I expected her to treat me no better than the rest, if not worse, since all I knew about her was her reputation as the Butcher.

"Then she saved me. She defended me against Udina's accusations and warnings of bringing a quarian along. She treated me like a sister, and she wouldn't let anyone say anything bad against me. She was willing to give me a chance, and I like to think that I made her proud.

"The more I got to know her, the more I saw the person underneath the one people call the Butcher. She regretted the Torfan raid, and would spend many nights just quietly reciting the casualty lists. She showed a brave face whenever people would spit that title in her face, but everyone in her crew could see how much it hurt her to be called that. Regardless, she treated everyone fairly, willing to give others a second chance even when most others wouldn't. She didn't condemn the rachni Queen, despite the objections of the crew who went with her on that mission. Neither did she kill any of the colonists in Feros. She even gave Saren a chance to give himself up, and even though his indoctrination was too far by then, he redeemed himself by denying Sovereign the chance to control the Citadel.

"When the Reapers invaded, I saw the weight that was slowly weighing down on the Commander's shoulders. People still called her Butcher behind her back, yet everyone still asked her to do the impossible: to save the galaxy from the Reapers. Despite the backhanded insults, she carried on, though I saw how the choices she had to make over the course of the war wear on her. Oh yes, she put on a brave face in front of everyone; what else could she do? She was the shining beacon of hope of the galaxy. She understood how badly morale would have been affected if she let her frustration and pain show, no matter how difficult it was for her to hide it.

"She only showed the weight the war was taking on her to us, with her crew. Near the end of the war, she'd stand in front of the Normandy's memorial wall for hours, quietly mouthing the names there, then the names of her Torfan squad, and finally the names of the people who died or got taken away from Mindoir. I don't think she ever wanted to forget about the people who she thought she'd failed, though I don't think any of them would have begrudged her anything. She persevered, and in the end, she managed the impossible: she stopped the Reapers, and she saved us all. I don't think there is a person in this galaxy more befitting of the title of hero, though knowing the Commander, she would have brushed that off with a laugh and a grimace, and say that she was only doing her job, that if it wasn't her, someone else would have achieved what she'd done. Humble to the end, though all of us know the truth now.

"Keelah se'lai, Commander Cassandra Shepard vas Normandy nar Mindoir. Rest well, and may your ancestors welcome you with open arms."


End file.
